MR. JOE RABBIT

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 176, 15 October 1927, Page 31 (Supplement)

MR. JOE RABBIT

Mr. Joe Rabbit worked very hard. You see, he was very fond of Mrs. Rabbit and John, Wilfred, Agnes, Lucy and Philip Rabbit, his little sons and daughters, and he wanted to give them a good time. He used to get up very early in the morning to dig warrens for them with his little hard hind feet and find lovely presents of little bits of green stuff, just like your daddy does. Of course, I don’t mean that your daddy digs warrens or has hard little hind feet, but he does work hard to make a home for you and bring you presents sometimes, doesn’t he? Well, Mr. Joe Rabbit, in spite of working so hard and being so kind, had rather a bad time, because whenever he went out he seemed to find a man or a boy waiting for him with a gun. Some men and boys seem to love shooting little rabbits. Joe had never done them any harm and he couldn’t understand it at all. In the end he got quite cross and bought a pop-gun. “I'm going to do a bit of shooting now,” he said, “for a change.” He went out one bright, blowy raornning with his pop-gun under his arm, and who should he meet but a baby crow—the funniest little creature, all feet, and big, round, innocent staring eyes. The little bird trembled In every feather and looked so terrified that it gave Joe Rabbit quite a shock. Nobody had ever been frightened of him before in all his kind little life, and he couldn’t bear it! ‘Tm not going to shoot you, Baby Crow,” he said. “In fact, now I come to think of it, I don't want to shoot anyone. I don't like frightening people. Good morning!” The baby crow went straight back to his mother and made up his mind not to go for walks by himself till he was a grown-up bird. Mr. Joe Rabbit felt quite upset so he took the popgun home and pulled it to pieces. John and Wilfred used the ball part for cricket and Lucy uses the stick part for her hoop, tliough she finds it a bit heavy. Mr. Joe Rabbit himself jtrst runs when he sees a man with a gun and trusts to luck.